Maximum Fire Danger Index Maps

Important Notes:

Fire authorities may consider other risk factors besides Fire Danger Indices (FDI) when determining a Fire Danger Rating. Consequently Fire Danger Indices should not be used in place of the official Fire Danger Ratings.

These maps are updated once a day in the late afternoon during the fire season. These maps may not reflect the latest official forecasts which can be updated at any time. Always use these maps together with the Bureau's warnings and weather forecasts and with Fire Danger Ratings issued by the fire authority. These maps are not available outside the fire season.

The calculated FDI values are based on representative values of wind speed, temperature, humidity and fuel conditions for each 6 km grid square and do not take into account more local variations in topography and fuels. Local variations in elevation, slope, and aspect may cause the FDI values at a point location to be different from the values indicated by these graphical forecasts. These differences may also result in significant differences between the observed rates of spread of fires and the rates of spread calculated from these FDI forecasts.

Striped patterns on the FDI maps are sometimes displayed when bands of stronger winds are forecast. These patterns are artefacts of processing the Maximum FDI from hourly forecasts of FDI.

The Grassland Fire Danger Index (GFDI) has been calculated using grass curing and fuel load data supplied by the Fire Authority. You accept all risks and responsibility for losses, damages, costs and other consequences resulting directly or indirectly from using this site and any information or material available from it.

FDI values are very sensitive to input values. To demonstrate how the FDI is affected by small changes in temperatures, humidity and wind speed, the table below shows the large range of GFDI and a fuel load of 4.5 tonnes per hectare, a 40°C temperature, 8% humidity and a wind change of just 3 kilometres per hour.

Due to the sparse observation network over the North Interior and South Interior districts, it is difficult to produce an accurate analysis of ground and fuel moisture indicators, particularly away from the limited number of observation sites. With potentially misleading and/or erroneous fuel moisture values, Forest Fire Danger Index (FFDI) values for these areas will not be produced and Grassland Fire Danger will be used in place of FFDI for the North Interior and South Interior districts.